Crystal Winters

Prologue

Warning: Temporary character death, contains OC.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians. I only own my OC Crystal Winters.

It was a normal day for Crystal, right up until she died.

No, really. She had woken up only fifteen minutes after she was supposed to, and got ready in a (relatively) timely manner. She was only running about ten minutes late, which had to be a new record. So, Crystal was pretty happy as she got ready to go to school. At exactly 7:54 am, she slung her backpack over her left shoulder and ran out the door.

The walk-well, run- to school was as boring as always, but the ground was covered in frost and a faint winter breeze whistled between the houses littering the sides of the streets. She closed her eyes for a second and breathed in the crisp air. Winter had always been her favorite season.

The sidewalk was clear of people, except for a few early morning joggers and the occasional little kid on their way to the park. It was a safe neighborhood, so when she accidentally bumped into a seven-year-old, it wasn't much of a surprise.

She lifted her left wrist to check the time and a scowl spread across her face.

Crystal ran just a bit faster.

The first bell rang when she was just fifty meters away from the school-all she had to do was cross the street, run across the expansive lawn, and through the school halls to first period history.

Fate wasn't on her side today, apparently. The crosswalk light would not change from the flashing 'stop' hand, and so she stood there and waited impatiently. A little boy around 12 years old stood next to her and holding a sled.

'But there's no snow...'

It didn't matter. The sign flashed and showed the white silhouette of the pedestrian, and she started to jog across the crosswalk.

The little kid next to her ran, full of energy and excitement, across the street eagerly.

Worry and a little bit of fear fleeted across her brain, and her stomach twisted when she saw the truck.

The truck belonged to someone in her grade-she couldn't remember who, but it was obvious that they were texting or doing something else that distracted them from driving. As such, they didn't see the red light, or the little brunette boy running happily along with his sled.

The truck continued to speed on.

'C'mon, c'mon, kid, get out of the way' she thought even as her pace picked up.

She didn't even register her intentions until it was too late.

She ran and shoved the kid out of the way before her mind could make out what was happening.

Call it a hero complex.

She didn't feel herself hit the ground.

She didn't hear the blaring 'HONK' that the truck made, trying to make her move.

The truck skidded on black ice. Black ebbed at her vision from the hard blow to the ground.

The last thing she saw was the horror-struck look of a 12-year-old with brown hair and brown eyes, the edge of a sled tightly gripped in his left hand. She looked into the face of the kid-Jamie Bennet, her brain supplied sluggishly.

And then there was nothing.